Well, this wasn't what we expected. According to initial estimations, Watchmen made less money in its first day than Zack Snyder's 300, despite playing in more theaters. Has the backlash happened early?

According to Exhibitor Relations, Watchmen made $25.1 million yesterday, including the $4.6 million from the Thursday night screenings, from 3,611 theaters; 300's first day gross was $28.1 million from 3,103 theaters. The box office tracking site now projects an opening weekend gross for Snyder's latest movie of around $60 million, which is below 300's $70.8 million... as well as, worryingly for Warners, Ice Age 2, the movie to hold the March opening weekend record prior to the swords and Spartans flick. Deadline Hollywood's Nikki Finke agrees, saying that "[i]t's now certain that $70M, even if Thursday's 1,600 midnight shows are included in the total, is impossible," and quoting an unnamed marketing guru warning that things could get worse:

They will get a lot of initial interest because it's an event movie in March — and then the bottom falls out. Whether Warner Bros can broaden the campaign to sustain interest in Watchmen is what movie analysts will be watching after this Sunday.